Former Green Hills Store Director Dale Beauchamp Brings More Than Three Decades of Supermarket Experience to Franklin Store

FRANKLIN, Tenn., Aug. 18 -- Wild Oats Markets, Inc. (Nasdaq: OATS - News), a leading national natural and organic foods retailer, today announced Dale Beauchamp has been named store director of the Franklin, Tenn. store, set to open September 17, 2003. Formerly the store director of the Green Hills Wild Oats store on Hillsboro Pike, Mr. Beauchamp will lead a team of approximately 140 employees to bring the highest quality natural, organic and gourmet food and products to the people of Franklin.

"We"ve received a tremendous amount of support from the community since announcing our entry into Franklin, and we know that Dale, as leader of the Franklin team, will be a great asset to this community," said Perry Odak, President and CEO of Wild Oats Markets. "He brings both leadership and enthusiasm to the team and we look forward to filling additional positions in the Franklin store."
Mr. Beauchamp brings more than 30 years of experience in the supermarket retail industry with his most recent work as the store director at the Green Hills Wild Oats store. Bringing with him a long history with Wild Oats in Nashville, prior to joining the Green Hills store, Mr. Beauchamp also ran the Wild Oats store on Belmont Blvd. Prior to joining Wild Oats, he spent several years at Ralph"s grocery stores in Southern California.

"At Wild Oats, we pride ourselves on being a resource for products and information that support health and well-being," said Mr. Beauchamp. "I sought this opportunity because I wanted to continue working for a company that places customer service, social responsibility and product quality at the forefront of its operations."
To replace Mr. Beauchamp, Wild Oats has appointed Paul Barnett as the new store director of the Green Hills Wild Oats store. Mr. Barnett brings significant knowledge of the natural and organic food and retail industry to Wild Oats with six years of experience at Whole Foods Markets. Prior to that, he spent more than 20 years in sales positions with various companies, including Allegro Coffee Company, Colombo and Mountain High yogurt.

"The Wild Oats store on Hillsboro Pike has been serving the people of Nashville since 1999," said Mr. Barnett, newly appointed store director of the Green Hills Wild Oats store. "I"m thrilled to lead a team of dedicated employees in continuing the store"s well-established tradition of providing the highest quality natural, organic and gourmet food and products paired with great customer service."
Wild Oats Markets, Inc. is a nationwide chain of natural and organic foods markets in the U.S. and Canada with annual sales of nearly $920 million. The Company operates 101 natural foods stores in 25 states and British Columbia, Canada. The Company"s markets include: Wild Oats Natural Marketplace, Henry"s Marketplace, Sun Harvest and Capers Community Markets.